ZIP 49548 vs ZIP 49508

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49548 (Grand Rapids, MI) and ZIP 49508 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49548 has a population of 30,524 at 1,114 people per square mile, while ZIP 49508 has 39,148 at 1,253 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 49548 reports a median household income of $61,636 against $70,120 in ZIP 49508, with per-capita income of $27,740 vs $33,638. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.1% in 49548 and 34.4% in 49508. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 4.8% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $159,100 in 49548 versus $281,600 in 49508, with median rent of $1,207 and $1,264 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.0% vs 60.7%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.